Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 89 Preparing to Migrate
In the end, Yidaozi got the chess record he wanted and went to study it in ecstasy, while Mr. Cangqiu went to look for Zhao Yifu's grandfather.

"Little Tiger? I remember him. He even pooped his pants while attending class. The smell is still fresh in my memory..."

Mr. Cangqiu talked about Peng Hu’s dark history.

Zhao Yifu's expression was extremely complicated when he heard this.

Only Liang Zhongzhi and Zhao Yifu were left. Liang Zhongzhi smiled and shook his head, saying, "You shouldn't have just taken out the chess manual and showed it to that Yidaozi guy. At least you should have stamped it with your official seal first."

Zhao Yifu shook his head and said, "Senior Yi Daozi is an elder of our sect. Isn't it inappropriate to do this?"

Liang Zhongzhi laughed and said, "Just think of this as a reward from your seniors."

Zhao Yifu followed suit and quickly stamped the chess record beside him.

Then he spread out another piece of paper, and on it was a picture of the ancestor playing the piano.

Liang Zhongzhi nodded silently beside him and said, "Okay, this painting is quite interesting. It must be the true appearance of the founder, right?"

"If this is the true appearance of the founder, then we can replace all the portraits of the founders in the sect."

"No, even all branches of the Pure Yang Sect can be replaced."

"But no serious person would stare at the portrait of the ancestor all day long, so don't expect to gain much Yang or spiritual energy from it."

Liang Zhongzhi was preaching on the side.

Zhao Yifu didn't respond, he just continued painting.

"what?"

Liang Zhongzhi was shocked. He found some of Zhao Yifu's painting techniques surprising.

It’s not that he doesn’t recognize them, but this combination is beyond his imagination.

Because Zhao Yifu's painting skills are no longer simple, but he has integrated illusions into the scroll and created a moving picture!

The ancestor in the scroll is sitting upright on a rock, with the guqin placed on his knees, and he is plucking the guqin continuously with his fingers.

If you look closely, you can see that each time you pluck the strings, you are not just randomly playing the strings, but actually playing a tune.

After all this was finished, Zhao Yifu took out his seal and stamped his own word "信".

Liang Zhongzhi looked at the painting in silence for a long time.

Zhao Yifu waited for a while, and finally got a trace of yang and spiritual energy from his master.

At this time, Liang Zhongzhi said, "Your painting skills still need to be improved. The artistic conception of this painting is not reflected. The background is too thin and not well decorated. Moreover, the characters take up too much space in the scroll, which makes it feel a bit too sharp..."

He mentioned a lot of shortcomings.

Finally, he sighed, "But you did a great job. If I'm not mistaken, the song played by the Grandmaster in this illusion is the song that Teacher Cang Qiu requested, right?"

Zhao Yifu nodded: "Yeah."

Liang Zhongzhi said, "Haha, when you return to Moyang, please take some time to come to the mountain and bring this painting with you. I will hang it in the dormitory for you."

Then he smiled mischievously and said, "Then get ready for a flood of wealth."

There is no doubt that the pure artistic value of this painting is still not high in Liang Zhongzhi's eyes, but it is different in the eyes of those who learn to play the piano.

They can go crazy about it!

Zhao Yifu was happy and he was also looking forward to the grand occasion.

Liang Zhongzhi then left, and he began to copy the poem written by the master according to his memory.

He found it very interesting and tried to understand something from it.

At this moment, his grandfather walked in in a daze.

"Jun Xin..."

Peng Hu called out in confusion.

Zhao Yifu stopped writing and asked in surprise, "Grandpa, what's wrong with you?"

Peng Hu suddenly broke into an ugly grin and said, "Jun Xin, from now on I really have to call you Senior Brother."

Zhao Yifu was surprised. He asked, "Could it be that Mr. Cangqiu wants to accept you as his disciple?"

Peng Hu nodded heavily and said, "Yes, my master decided to accept me as his disciple after listening to me play a piece of music."

"According to the order of initiation, should I call you Senior Brother?"

Zhao Yifu's scalp tingled when he heard this. He didn't have the guts to call his grandfather "junior brother".

So he quickly said, "No, no, Grandpa, let's talk about it according to age."

Peng Hu thought there was nothing wrong with it. He said, "You're right. This is no joke. It really feels awkward for me to call you Senior Brother... In that case, I'll just be so magnanimous as to call you Junior Brother. How about that?"

This time, Zhao Yifu felt it was really difficult to refuse.

Because according to the seniority of the master, this is really the case.

It would have been fine if Peng Hu hadn't gotten started before.

At that time, Zhao Yifu was in seclusion and Peng Hu was in the secular world, so they could be addressed according to secular terms.

But now both of them are outside...

"Senior brother..."

He cried out in resignation.

"Alas~ Junior Brother."

Peng Hu agreed with great joy.

Fortunately, Zhao Yunhe was not here, otherwise he, as the father, would have to call him "uncle~"

In this way, the grandfather and grandson called each other brothers, which really attracted people's attention.

Two more days passed like this, and Zhao Yunhe finally sent someone to find Zhao Yifu to discuss matters. Zhao Yifu knew that the critical moment was finally coming.

He went to Zhao Yunhe's study alone, knocked on the door, and saw that it was his brother Zhao Yicheng who opened the door to welcome him in.

Zhao Yicheng was a loyal and sincere person. When he saw Zhao Yifu, he quickly hugged him in his arms.

Although he had lost a lot of weight due to his constant illness, Zhao Yicheng was still half a head taller than Zhao Yifu due to his broad frame.

This is the bloodline of the Zhao family, each of them is of tall and strong build.

Of course there are always some genetic mutations.

Such as the short Zhao Yehe and the taller Zhao Xiangyu who is taller than a man.

"Brother Fu, thank you very much."

Zhao Yicheng said gratefully, "If it weren't for Brother Fu, I would have been in trouble this time."

Zhao Yifu consoled him, "Brother, what are you talking about? I've been taken care of by you since I was little. We are close brothers."

Zhao Yicheng also smiled and said, "Indeed, I have wanted to come to see you these past two days, but my father has always refused. Today, I am able to see Brother Fu, and you are indeed handsome and have grown up."

As the saying goes, an elder brother is like a father. Zhao Yifu has always had a good impression of this loyal brother, otherwise he would not have tried so desperately to save people.

Zhao Yicheng took Zhao Yifu's hand and walked into the house, and saw two other people in the house.

Zhao Yunhe and his second uncle Zhao Guhe. Zhao Yunhe looked at his second son with deep emotion.

He said, "Your second uncle relied on you to save him, and now you are also helping to treat your eldest brother. If it weren't for you, I would have almost become a lonely man."

It was indeed a terrible situation. Zhao Yunhe had lost his most trusted brother and the son he entrusted with his future affairs. He was probably furious and crazy.

Zhao Yifu then said, "It's over, no need to say more."

Zhao Yunhe was stunned for a moment, then nodded solemnly and said, "Indeed, now we should consider the long-term plan."

He pondered for a moment and then said, "Jun Xin, what is the character of Lord Zhou? Is he worthy of trust?"

Zhao Yifu hesitated about how to explain it.

In fact, at this time, just a few nice words from him could make Zhao Yunhe make up his mind, it was just a matter of how much determination he had.

If Teacher Zhou were an ordinary person, he would definitely consider the size of the bet.

But is Teacher Zhou an ordinary person?
Zhao Yifu raised his head and looked at Zhao Yunhe. "Father, Second Uncle, and Big Brother, I have something to say, but I don't want anyone else to hear it."

Zhao Yunhe immediately said cautiously after hearing this: "Don't worry, everyone here is your closest and trustworthy relative."

Zhao Yifu took a deep breath and said, "It's rumored in our sect that my teacher Zhou is actually the reincarnation of a god from heaven."

Zhao Yunhe stood up immediately after hearing this.

This is a serious matter.

He looked at Zhao Yifu...

At this time, Zhao Yifu added: "Shenhe Villa will serve as Master Zhou's minions from now on. Master Zhou's ambition is the Zhao family's ambition. We are not afraid even if it means our death."

"Because following Master Zhou is not just about fame and fortune in public, it's also about posthumous honors..."

Zhao Guhe's eyes lit up, and he said, "If that's the case, I will die serving Master Zhou."

Zhao Yunhe understood and said, "In that case, I will use all my family wealth to support Master Zhou."

Zhao Yifu nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and then said, "Also, since we are serving Lord Zhou, we cannot let anyone criticize us over the land tax."

Zhao Yunhe nodded repeatedly after hearing this and said, "We used to have quite a bit of hidden farmland, but this comprehensive contraction is equivalent to throwing away all of it."

"The remaining registered land is tax-paid."

"But if we only rely on these registered lands, I'm afraid we won't be able to support so many people in the village."

Zhao Yifu said, "No problem. Our dynasty favors scholars. Once I pass the imperial examination, I can be exempted from the land tax on 500 mu of land."

"The land in our Jiangnan region is fertile. Planting rice can yield three dan of grain in one season. We have two harvests a year, so we can get six dan of grain per mu per year."

"500 mu of land equals 3000 dan of grain, which is enough for the people on the farm."

An adult male consumes about 4 shi of grain a year, and 3000 shi is enough for 750 adult males to eat in a year.

But this account cannot be calculated in this way, because most of the men in Shenhe Villa learn martial arts, and usually go hunting for meat in the surrounding areas or go fishing in the lakes.

It is easier to get full if you eat this combination, but in fact you can't eat that much food.

Therefore, these 500 acres of land can definitely provide food for the entire village.

Then Zhao Yifu said, "Also, since the court has asked me, Mr. Zhou, to recruit soldiers on my own, then there will naturally be tax-free quotas."

"That is, not only do soldiers receive a salary, but each soldier's family can also enjoy a tax-free allowance of three acres of land."

"So, if Shenhe Villa can provide more soldiers, there will naturally be enough tax-free land for farming."

Zhao Yunhe calculated for a moment and said, "Indeed, we only need to send a hundred people to exempt a thousand acres in total. That's enough, more than enough."

Zhao Yunhe's eyes flickered as he spoke, "It seems that, whether for long-term or immediate benefit, we should all serve Master Zhou."

“It’s just a matter of how many people should go…”

This is a problem. The five hundred strong men in Shenhe Villa are all brave and would be elite soldiers in any army.

But if all five hundred people go out, there will be no one to take care of the family property...

Zhao Guhe said, "It would be better to send out a hundred men first. After all, the enemy is determined to destroy us. If we send out too many men, I'm afraid Zhuangzi will be unable to resist."

Zhao Yunhe pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Now the enemy is in the dark while I am in the light. Although Shenhe Villa is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is still a target."

He pondered for a moment, but suddenly made up his mind: "Why not abandon this farm for the time being and move all the people to Moyang!"

Zhao Yifu was shocked by this, because this decision was too bold, as it was tantamount to abandoning the business built up by three generations!

But when this point was raised, no one present had any objection.

After all, Zhao Yifu didn't care about these family businesses, and Zhao Guhe was basically the same.

Only Zhao Yicheng hesitated and said, "But this is our ancestral property after all. It would be a shame to give it up..."

Zhao Yunhe said, "They are all dead things. Once we overcome this difficulty, with the strength of our Zhao family, we can rebuild Shenhe Villa at any time."

Compared with his father, Zhao Yicheng is obviously only capable of maintaining the status quo.

Zhao Yifu really didn't expect that his father would be so decisive.

Therefore, this year was quite bad for the people in Shenhe Villa.

Everyone has to pack up their belongings and prepare to move.

This is unimaginable in this era. After all, people are despised when they leave their hometown. Who would be willing to give up the home where they have lived for a lifetime and move to another place?
But this impossible thing happened in Shenhe Villa.

The Zhao clan members knew very well what they were facing, and the grace and power of three generations of the owners of Shenhe Villa were also decisive factors.

So when everyone else was decorating their houses and preparing for the New Year, Shenhe Villa was already urgently storing supplies and then relocating.

Their relocation method was also very simple. They moved from the dock behind the villa, through the waterway in the marsh, into the Fairy Lake, and then went to Moyang City by water.

Zhao Yifu initially thought that relocating the ship via waterways would be very troublesome, after all, there weren't that many boats...

But when he arrived behind Shenhe Villa and saw that there were already hundreds of large and small ships loading goods at the dock, he suddenly didn't know what to say.

There is only one reason to explain this situation, that is, Zhao Yunhe had already planned to abandon Shenhe Villa and evacuate, and had prepared a boat.

Zhao Yunhe said, "But the fleet will be so large, and there might be danger along the way..."

Zhao Yifu was relieved after hearing this, saying, "Don't worry, father. My mentor has already decided to come and help us relocate. With the help of my mentor, Lord Zheng Fang, our tribe will be able to relocate safely."

Zhao Yunhe was surprised. He didn't expect that Zhao Yifu could actually ask the gods to come and help him.

Zhao Yifu was very secretive about this.

After all, his master felt that he owed him, so he wanted to do something to make up for it.

Originally, it was just right for him to go through the waterway as he thought, and there was no need for the master to help... But anyway, it would be better if the master was willing to come out.

After knowing this, Zhao Yifu informed Zhou Su by sending a letter with folded paper.

If so many people arrived in Moyang City at once without informing the officials, it would definitely cause a panic.

With Zhou Su's endorsement, the more than 2,000 people in the entire village can settle down in Moyang City with peace of mind.

If the enemies of Shenhe Villa thought this was just a fight between the Jianghu and the underworld, they were wrong. Before long, a new army would be formed and, under the pretext of suppressing the rioters, they would go around cracking down on the Jianghu forces...

　It's good to update twice a day every two days

　　
　
(End of this chapter)